Active Shooter, dark, ballistics helmet and/or body armor

[308Mike]

He was wearing a load bearing vest. LBV/E gear.

Any word on the rest of what he was wearing? I SERIOUSLY DOUBT he did the same thing as the Hollyweird Bank Robbers and spend time sewing various Kevlar panels together to create a bullet-resistant SUIT (leaving the head and lower legs/hands exposed). All I've heard from the media after the initial crap was the parroting of the "fully covered on body armor" story, when the FIRST stories came out that he was only wearing ballistic nylon (which certainly WILL NOT stop a bullet).

Any updates appreciated!!

[doc Russia]

I did a little snooping, and found that he had bought fromtacticalgearnow:
It appears that he purchased $306.79 worth of merchandise. They did NOT sell him a vest or a helmet. Looking at their website, you have to have some sort of LEO/Mil ID to purchase.
What the Chief of police says is that the guy had a ballistic tactical vest, ballistic helmet, throat and groin protector. No mention of bicep/shoulder protection.There is a description of some sort of leggings. Whether they are ballistic or not is anyone's guess.
So, something like this, but in black:
Because I am making the huge logical leap that the chief of police would not say "ballistic tactical vest" unless he meant a ballistic tactical vest, the scenario is bad.
I used to wear that stuff when I ran with Dallas SWAT.
You are pretty protected. Forget about pelvic girdle shots incapacitating.

It's a bad scenario. Honestly, you would be best fighting your way to an exit, shooting to keep the guy distracted. But, I honestly do not know if I would have picked up on the body armor in a dark theater with bullets incoming. I still say your best bet would be to get cover/concealment, try to flank and engage.

It is a crap situation. There is no neat tactical maneuver which would give you the upper hand. You have to just fight your way to victory, or die trying.

[Greg]

This is a really odd scenario. I read somewhere that several of the survivors were people he bypassed, who he passed within arms length and ignored. Didn't anyone even have a damned pocket knife? Or even keys on a keychain? Hell or just punch the fucker in the kidneys.

[308Mike]

This is a really odd scenario. I read somewhere that several of the survivors were people he bypassed, who he passed within arms length and ignored. Didn't anyone even have a damned pocket knife? Or even keys on a keychain? Hell or just punch the fucker in the kidneys.

Don't forget, these folks aren't trained military people who've experienced much worse than simple Tear Gas, which is what the supposed "grenades" he had thrown in the theater were supposed to be. Had they been CS grenades, the panic would have been much worse. Most of the theater-goers had never experienced any kind of chemical attack before and had no idea what they were dealing with, so I don't really blame them too much (at least from what I've heard). Had he not used the gas devices, I would be a bit harsher in my criticism of those in the theater.

[Termite]

At this point, I don't care what he was wearing/using. I don't care if he IS legally insane. I don't want to try to "understand" him.
I want the local sheriff to put him in the general prison population, so that he can face the normal convicts. And whatever happens, happens.

To hell with him.

[Denis]

This is a bit long, but germane:

http://pjmedia.com/victordavishanson/th ... epage=true

[doc Russia]

I did a little snooping, and found that he had bought fromtacticalgearnow:
It appears that he purchased $306.79 worth of merchandise. They did NOT sell him a vest or a helmet. Looking at their website, you have to have some sort of LEO/Mil ID to purchase.

It looks like he bought this piece:

http://tacticalgear.com/blackhawk-urban-assault-vest

Obviously no indication as to whether he was wearing it or not.

What the Chief of police says is that the guy had a ballistic tactical vest, ballistic helmet, throat and groin protector. No mention of bicep/shoulder protection.There is a description of some sort of leggings. Whether they are ballistic or not is anyone's guess.
So, something like this, but in black:
Because I am making the huge logical leap that the chief of police would not say "ballistic tactical vest" unless he meant a ballistic tactical vest, the scenario is bad.

Honestly... I think it's unlikely he was wearing armor at this protection level. If he was, they would be making a MUCH bigger deal about it.

Oh and a note to others about ballistic nylon.

Actually, Ballistic nylon IS bullet resistant. The first synthetic fabric bullet resistant soft armor was made from ballistic nylon, as were late WW2 through Viet Nam "flak jackets" (in a 3 layer configuration they were not bullet resistant, but they were fragment resistant. With manganese steel plates sewn in, they were bullet resistant to a modern level IIA at the plates, but they weren't constructed so as to be completely bullet resistant over the whole surface... also they weighed over 20lbs). The question is how many layers, of which denier, in which configuration; as to how effective they are as ballistic protection (the same thing is true of kevlar, spectra, twaron etc...).

7 layers of 1050 denier 2x2 ballistic weave nylon is equivalent to somewhere around level IIA or level II body armor (and weighs about 8 lbs in a "standard" size ballistic vest). 5 layers with hardened aluminum or glass reinforced nylon plates sewn in is equivalent to level II or level IIIA body armor.

Of course these days, ballistic nylon is mostly web gear, LBE, backpacks etc...

So, I found this photo from the scene:

Looks like the guy had a ballistic helmet, and that appears to be something like a level IIA vest.
We will see what comes out eventually, but that pic makes me think that 'armored head to toe' was more than a slight exaggeration

[JustinR]

I gotta work on face/head shots more often..........

Yea, that's what I was thinking too. I need a lot more practice.

Is it just me, or does the FBI's dress code seem a bit lax? Just an observation...

[Yogimus]

I gotta work on face/head shots more often..........

Yea, that's what I was thinking too. I need a lot more practice.

Is it just me, or does the FBI's dress code seem a bit lax? Just an observation...

They are working the scene, and its farking hot. Suits are for suit work. This is not suit work.